LA INSIDER
An exclusive invitation flies Editor in Chief Dong Ronquillo miles away to Cloudy Bay’s vineyards in the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand
Auckland is nicknamed the “City of Sails”, and this is evident in the hundreds of yachts and sailboats in the city’s harbor (which is also a pleasure to stroll down while enjoying the fresh morning air). We checked in at SO/ Auckland, in the heart of downtown, at the Britomart district. The hotel's central location is great for trying out the best of Auckland’s restaurants: Ortolana for refreshing European cuisine, and Oyster & Chop for, well, oysters and a nice view of the water. Also worth a try are Azabu Ponsonby for its omakase and Let It Brew for its mushroom burger. The Britomart district has a nice, young, and hip shopping scene.
But the big highlight of my Auckland trip was, as I mentioned, the skydive. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, we drove down to Skydive Auckland in Parakai, which is about 45 minutes from Auckland. Skydive offers the highest tandem jump (where you jump with an instructor) at 20,000 feet, which, according to them, the highest altitude offered in New Zealand. You can also choose to jump at 9,000, 13,000, and 16,000 feet. But since this might be once in a lifetime, we chose the highest jump—go big or go home, right?
Before boarding the plane, there is, of course, a safety briefing where you learn about the procedure. One thing I noticed was that our tandem masters (the instructors) were so… casual—as if jumping off a plane is no big deal. They told me they’ve jumped about 5,000 times already, so that justifies it (and puts you at ease). It’s hard to describe the feeling when we were on the plane, passing the altitude of 16,000 feet, and wearing oxygen masks. As we were ascending our tandem jump instructors pointed out the different beautiful sceneries in Auckland. I was not scared at all. I was very relaxed.
Once we jumped, it was very freeing. The jump at 20,000 feet gets you 85 seconds of freefall, and it felt like we were falling forever. When you’re in the air, you have no choice but to submit yourself to the fall and let go of your fears and inhibitions. It was possibly the most fulfilling 85 seconds of my life. My tandem jumper kept on taking pictures of me every step of the way. But I didn’t even bother to look good nor smile during the jump. I was just concerned about breathing, popping my ear, and just enjoying the experience. Needless to say, I looked bad in the videos and the photos.
On our last day in Auckland, we decided to go to the Island of Waiheke.
It’s also a beautiful island where people from the city go for the weekend or even just to have lunch. It’s a vacation place filled with places to eat, nice and picturesque vineyards, and other outdoor activities. Next time I go to this place, I would like to try something we weren't able to do. Little did we know that we could have ridden a chopper to land at one of the vineyards and have lunch.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
After 1 the skydive, I thought the rest of our trip might pale in comparison. But I was wrong. It is true what they say about Queenstown, it is magical.
After two nights in Auckland, we flew over to Queenstown, which is on South Island, the other side of New Zealand. Like Auckland, Queenstown is also a bay area, but this time on the shores of a lake and against the background of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. However, unlike its northern counterpart, Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of New Zealand.
So an adventure was what we had. But first things first: we checked in to the Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa and later grabbed a bite at Fergburger, hailed as the best burger joint in all of New Zealand (it was very good, and was worth the long line). The next day, we took a gondola on Skyline Queenstown to get up to Queenstown Luge to begin our next adventure: sliding down a hill. At first, the track can seem a bit intimidating as it snakes down the hill in a zigzag, but let me tell you, it is so much fun. It was like being a kid again—we even went for a second ride down.
With its claim to fame as the adventure and extreme sports capital of New Zealand, it was no surprise to find out that bungee jumping was born in Queenstown. We went to the bridge where the first bungee jump took place, which is on the Kawarau Bridge that runs above the river of the same name. While I would love to tell you that the bungee jump is nothing compared to the skydive, the bridge was closed on the day we went. Well, there’s always next time, right?
The highlight of our Queenstown trip, like the Auckland leg, also took place in the skies. However, instead of jumping out of a plane, we took in the most amazing sights on a helicopter. It was life-changing because not only did we land on a mountaintop, but on a glacier. If you’re a fan of
Lord of the Rings, this is also a great activity as you get to fly over iconic locations used in the films, like the Shotover River and Skippers Canyon. We also flew above Milford Sound and Mount Cook and then to Glenorchy, where we landed to take some photos of the scenery. The view is nothing short of amazing—lush mountains surrounded by turquoise waters. Absolutely breathtaking.
Even more breathtaking, however, was the landing on the glacier. We landed on Mount Aspiring National Park, which covers New Zealand’s Southern Alps. It’s the 23rd highest peak in the country and honestly one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever laid eyes on. I kept on asking myself, “Is this heaven?” It was a spectacular experience for the books.
Our trip was not complete without passing by a vineyard to taste wine and enjoy some fresh, quality food. We arranged a chauffeur for the day to take us to the different sceneries that Queenstown has to offer. From vineyards to Arrowtown, to summits and peaks of mountains that gave us picturesque and Instagram-worthy sites. Every part of Queenstown is majestic. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen in the more than fifty countries I have been to. I wish we had more time in Queenstown. The city center itself has so many little shops I wanted to visit and restaurants that I wanted to try.
Amongst the restaurants I was able to go to was Rata, which is a must, and if you are craving for steak, Botswana is the place. For desserts, Patagonia's ice cream and pastries cannot be missed!
There’s always something special with each trip I take, but this may be a contender for the top. In fact, I have been telling people that I would love to retire in Queenstown. It has the best scenery, the freshest air, the tastiest seafood and steaks, and fantastic outdoor activities— full of action, amazing sights, and—dare I say—liberation. Will I come back? Yes! A hundred times over.